Trolley-wheel oiler.



No. 776,871. PATENTED DEC. 6, 1904.

W. J. SLOAN & J. E. ROBINSON.

TROLLEY WHEEL OILER.

APPLICATION FILED APH..30,1904.

N0 MODEL.

men STATES Patented December 6, 1904;.

PATENT price.

WILLIAM J. SLOAN AND JOHN E. ROBINSON, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

TROLLEY WHEEL OlLEl tu SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 776,871, dated December 6, 1904.

Application filed April 30, 1904. Serial No. 205,830. (No modeld To all 1071,0171, it may concern:

Be it known that we,WILLIAM J. SLoAN and J OHN E. ROBINSON, citizens of the United States, and residents of Cleveland, county of Cuyahoga, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley- Wheel Oilers, of which we hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Our invention has for its objects to insure the frequent application of oil to the pivot-pin upon which the trolley-wheel is mounted and to carry in proximity to the wheel a plentiful supply of lubricant, whence it can readily be applied to the pivot-pin, and, further, to so arrange the relative positions of the various parts that there will be no Wasted oil and no discharge over the outer surface of the harp and pole, a suflicient amount for lubrication only being deposited at one time upon the pivot.

The invention consists in the pump-cylinder and piston upon the harp, outward and return passages therefrom communicating with the pivot-pin and Wheel-bearing, and means for reciprocating the piston in the cylinder, as hereinafter described, shown in the accompanying drawings,and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal central section through the pump-cylinder, showing the harp also in section along the line of the outward passage for oil leading to the pivot pin and passing through one branch of the harp and showing in dotted lines the return-passage. Fig. 2 is a central section taken through pivot-pin and Wheel and both branches of harp, showing the central passage in the pivot-pin, a passage leading downward therefrom to the wheelbearing, and the course of the oil feed and return passages.

In the views, 1 is the metal harp; 2, the trolley-wheel; 3, the pivot-pin on which the wheel rotates.

41- is the cord by means of which the wheel and pole are manipulated from the platform of the car.

5 is a pump-cylinder provided with a plentiful supply of oil. 6 is a piston therein, perforated at 7 to give free passage to the oil on the return of the piston.

8 is the piston-rod, which is secured. to the piston and passes outwardly through the cylinder-head 9, where it is turned downwardly at 10 for convenience in securing the cord 1- thereto. The lower end of the piston-rod extends through the piston at 11, and a disk or washer 12 is slidingly mounted thereon, so that as the piston descends the pressure of the oil will force the washer up the rod and close the passages 7 in the piston.

13 is a coiled tension-spring which returns the piston after it has been forced down by means of the cord 4.

14: is a passage through which the oil is forced up one branch of the harp 15, where the oil enters through the passage 16 into the central passage 17 in the pivot-pin. This central passage 17 traverses the pin from one closed end to the other, and at the opposite end a passage 18, similar to the passage 17,

communicates with the return or overflow passage 19 in the other branch, 20, of the harp, by means of which the oil is returned to the cylinder. The bearing of the wheel upon the pivot-pin is lubricated by means of the passage 21 in the pin centrally placed between the branches of the harp.

In operation whenever the trolley-cord is pulled from below the piston descends in the cylinder, the oil is forced up the feed-passage 1 1- to the pivot-pin, and it then traverses the central passage through the pin, depositing a small amount of oil for lubrication in the passage 21, leading to the trolley-wheel bearing. The residue of oil then flows downward through the return-passagcs 18 and 19 to the upper part of the cylinder, and as the spring forces the piston up again the oil returns to the bottom of the cylinder through the perforations in the piston, thus forming a complete circulation from the pump through the bearing.

To guide the cord 4- and insure a pull thereon in the direction of the movement of the piston in the cylinder, a pulley 22 is mounted on the back of the cylinder, over which the cord passes. An additional cord 23 is secured both to the harp and trolley-cord, so that if the connection with the pump should at any time give way there would still be a connection between the harp and pole, or the cord 23 may be made so short that it will take all the pull upon the pole and the cord above be used only for working the pump.

The advantages of this device are obvious, since a sufiicient amount of oil is applied to the wheel-bearing at any one time to lubricate it, but not enough to be wasted or to run down over the surface of the pole or harp, and the fact that the wheel is often manipulated by means of the cord insures the frequent application of oil thereto while on long runs, as when the trolley-wheel is used on suburban lines with long distances between stations where the wheel can be examined.

If desired, a separate cord can be attached to the pump piston-rod without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The pump can be operated by the conductor by pulling down the wheel, since the spring 13 is of less strength than the trolley-pole springs upon the car.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a trolley-wheel, its pivot-pin, and a harp, of a pump-cylinder and piston therein mounted upon the harp, there being circulating-passages from the pump through the said pin and returning to said pump, and communicating with said trolleywheel bearing, and instrumentalities for actuating said piston in said cylinder, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a trolley-wheel, pivot-pin and harp, of a pump-cylinder for oil mounted upon the harp, there being circulating-passages in the harp and pivot-pin communicating with said oil-cylinder and wheelbearing, a piston and piston-rod in said cylinder, a trolley-cord connected with the outer end of the piston-rod, and means for returnin g the piston when released by the cord, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a trolley-wheel and pivot-pin, and harp, of an oil-cylinder on the harp, there being a circulating-passage leading from the bottom of the cylinder up one of the harp branches to the pivot-pin, a central passage passing through the pin, and a circulating-passage leading therefrom down the other branch of the harp to the upper end of the cylinder, there being also openings in the piston for oil passage, and a passage from the central passage in the pivot-pin to the trolley-wheel bearing, and a disk or temporary closure for the openings in the piston adapted to close the said openings when the piston is forced down into the cylinder, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a trolley-wheel, harp and pivot-pin, of an oil-pump mounted upon the harp, there being circulating-passages communicating with the pivot-pin and wheel-bearing, and passing from the pump up one branch of the harp and down the other branch to the pump, a piston within the pump-cylinder, and a trolley-cord operatively connected with said piston, whereby the piston is operated to force the oil through said circulatingpassages, whenever the cord is pulled, substantially as described.

5. In combination, in a trolley-wheel oiler, a harp, a trolley-wheel, a pivot-pin therefor, an oil-pump upon the harp, there being circulating-passages leading from the pump to the pivot-pin and wheel-bearing, and back to the pump, a cylinder, piston and piston-rod in the pump, there being openings in the bottom of the piston, and an extended portion of the piston-rod, a washer thereon, adapted to close said openings when the piston is forced into the cylinder, a return-spring for the piston, a trolley-cord secured to the outer end of the piston-rod, and a guide therefor upon the harp, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we hereunto set our hands this 9th day of April, 1904.

WVILLIAM J. SLOAN. JOHN E. ROBINSON.

Witnesses:

WM. M. MONROE, E. S. GEIssNER. 

